What happened to CYSS? Why AAP rebooted its student wing
Arvind Kejriwal
NEW DELHI: With Aam Aadmi Party launching a new student wing—Association of Students for Alternative Politics—ahead of the upcoming Delhi University Students' Union elections, a key question emerges: what happened to
Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti
, the party's original student outfit launched in 2014?
Despite early ambitions and backing from the party in Delhi, CYSS struggled to gain a foothold in student politics, failing to dominate either Delhi University or Punjab University.
Chhatra Yuva Sangharsh Samiti was launched on Sept 27, 2014, coinciding with Bhagat Singh's birth anniversary. It was envisioned as a platform to bring AAP's brand of 'alternative politics' to campuses. In 2015, it made its debut in the
DUSU elections
but failed to win any seats. In 2018, it entered into an alliance with All India Students' Association, fielding candidates for secretary and joint secretary, but again failed to secure a victory.
The wing's most notable success came in 2022, when CYSS candidate Aayush Khatkar won the president post in the Panjab University Campus Students Council elections. However, the victory did not translate into sustained presence or control, either in Chandigarh or elsewhere.
In response to a question on why a new student organisation was being launched, a party functionary told
TOI
that'CYSS has not yet achieved the desired success.
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This organisation has not been able to establish its sole rule in Delhi or Punjab University. Hence, AAP has made a new plan to launch the student organisation afresh and make a deeper inroad among the youth.'
Speaking at the launch event of the party's student wing at Constitutional Club of India on Tuesday, the party's national convener and former chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal
described the association as a platform for India's youth, aimed at offering them an alternative brand of politics.
However, he pointed out that this student wing's key objective was not just to contest elections 'but also to build social and cultural groups in schools and colleges to unite students through ideas and creativity.'
On Monday, the party in an official statement had announced that
Association of Students for Alternative Politics
would contest the DUSU elections. It also announced that the student wing's aim is to 'prepare 5 lakh patriots in 50,000 colleges across the country'.
The relaunch of AAP's student wing appears to be an attempt to rebrand and reset strategy. While the party has not officially dissolved CYSS,there is no clarity yet if the older body has been phased out.
For AAP, which has long sought a stronger student base, the success or failure of the association could determine the future of its youth outreach.
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